5 Ways America's Most Authoritative Hospital, Massachusetts General, Keeps Employees Happy

Massachusetts General Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical School and founded in 1811, is a globally recognized authoritative hospital and the largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It leads the world in treating cancer, cardiovascular disease, pediatrics, neurology, cerebrovascular disease, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, rheumatology and immunology, hematology, and endocrinology. It was the first in the world to apply whole-genome cancer testing, and is world-renowned for gene-targeted cancer therapy, proton therapy, and radiotherapy surgery. It has produced 13 Nobel laureates.

Massachusetts General Hospital is the only hospital in the United States without a union, because its doctors, nurses, and other staff are so satisfied with hospital administration and the working environment that they do not need a union to negotiate on their behalf.

How Does Massachusetts General Hospital Keep Employees Happy?

First, good leaders.

The hospital has a leadership model covering people management, process management, communication management, financial management, and leadership, and every manager must attend this training. At year-end, leaders at all levels are evaluated on three employee-related indicators: the satisfaction rate of their department’s staff, turnover rate, and diversity (for example, whether there is racial discrimination).

Second, good colleagues.

Their year-end evaluation asks whether you put patients at the center, whether you respect colleagues, how well you collaborate as a team, and whether you pursue excellence at work, and then assigns your grade.

Third, good prospects.

The hospital has a career development center offering various kinds of training. At the end of each year, direct supervisors talk with employees about departmental development goals and personal growth goals, and help find the point where the two align. On that basis, both sides jointly agree on the employee’s goals for the coming year and for the whole career. Employees become small engines that drive themselves, rather than each level watching the level below, with a big engine driving the small ones.

Fourth, good service.

The hospital also provides good service to employees. Departmental management structures, the generalist model for administrative staff, and employee assistance programs are all handled as well as possible.

Fifth, good recognition.

The hospital thanks and rewards employees for excellent work in various ways, strengthening their sense of pride. Naturally, employees come to identify with the hospital and the organization, feel at home, and give their all for their own environment.